The Bee Tree {FI♥AR}

"When Mary Ellen gets bored with her reading, Grandpa knows a hunt for a bee tree is just what she needs. Half the town joins the exciting chase, but it's not until everyone returns home that Mary Ellen makes a discovery of her own: Sometimes, even the sweetest of things must be worked for."

We began our adventure with a field trip to Tongue River Honey {local, family owned, and operated} the week they were in full honey production in September.

It was neat to see how honey is extracted ~ it is a lot of hard work and they work fast to get it all done in such a short amount of time. They were nice to take so much time with us and were very detailed in their explanations. It was really neat!

I must admit I panicked when I saw the kids dipping their fingers in the big honey drum and then licking them! Then I found out they had permission! In fact, the owner showed us the fine art of finger dipping so that you don't drip the honey all over your shirt on the way to your mouth! (You dip your finger in and then as you pull it out, you roll your finger in a cirlce so that the honey stays in a ball on your finger ~ long enough to get it in your mouth!)

Mali and Elli had two quarts to fill and they got to put the label on themselves. I was surprised to find out that the honey is only $2 a pound ~ so $6 for a quart if you get it directly from them. {Our local health food store marks it up 40%.}

The owner, (who, by the way, homeschooled his kids!) took us out to see some hives. . . .

and let us try on a beekeeping helmet/veil.

And then, he demonstrated how to remove a stinger ~ he grabbed a bee and stung himself! {I asked if it hurt, lol, and he said that yes, it hurt and that you never really get used to bee stings.}

"Activities incorporating drama, games, and art projects with observations and discussions educate young children about bees. They role-play bee dances, are introduced to bee metamorphosis, learn about bee predators and honey robbers, and discover how bees work together to protect the hive."

Very neat lesson book that we used for our Science lesson on bees.

Left: Examining a flower to see the pollen.
Right: Drinking "nectar" like a bee ~ with a pretend {drinking straw} proboscis.

More activities from Buzzing a Hive. . .

Left: Honey Tasting
Right: Honey Bees we made {learned about parts of a bee} &
Learning about how bees make wax {hang in chains} and discussing uses of bees wax.

Honey Bee Bag Book

Instead of making the classroom project poster suggested in the book, we made a cute bag book in the shape of a hive,
using the printables {reduced on the copier} from the lesson book.

1 comment

I would love to know how to make the edible play doh and the beeswax candles, lip balm and what video you watched about the tessallations! Is there a place on your blog that you list these resources? Or can I purchase the information from you?

My email is hottcoffeemomma@yahoo.comThanks so much for so many great ideas!!